All Is Fair In Love and War
by LaylaxAlistair
Summary: All is fair in love and war but when life and death come between to vampires who are destined to be together happen to despise each other... Will they fall in love or has one of them already fallen? Rated 'M' Might contain other Characters that belong to Stephanie Meyer!
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**All is Fair in Love and War**** By EmilylovesAlistair**

**Author's Note: Hi, I've been addicted to FanFiction for a while and now I have plots floating in my head I have to get them out somehow. Yes I am crazy and here is my first attempt at a story* so maybe if I get it out of my system I'll have some piece of mind.  
**

***Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and is gracious enough to let me play with her characters and Twilight Universe. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended.  
**

**Summary: **All is fair in love and war but when two vampires who fight along side of the Cullen's who are against the Volturi for a crime they didn't commit despise each other... Will they fall in love or has one of them already fallen when they first laid eyes on each other.

**Prologue; **_We stood there side by side waiting for them to cross the clearing. I took a deep breath no bothering to say good bye to anyone when I saw it. The vision came to me hazy and yet undecided. I already knew Aro's decision before he made it for himself._

**Chapter 1. The Beginning_  
_**

**LPOV (Layla's Point Of View)**

**June 15th, 2012, Britain**

I walked through the doors of my house and sighed as I hung my jacket up and put my keys down on the desk next to the doorway. My mother and father were arguing over what I had no clue. I need a new life where nobody knew me. Where others accepted me for who I was and what I am now. Vampire. The word seemed imaginary, unreal, fake but that's not what I thought about 100 years ago when my life seemed full of hopes and dreams.

**(Flashback)**

**June 15th, 19th Century, Britain  
**

_It was the night before my wedding. I left my dear friend Nate's house to get back to my soon-to-be husband. I walked a little further down road and that's when he was standing their. I was about to walk past him unnoticed but he saw me. He called me over to meet his friends and grabbed my arm hastily. I cringed.__  
_

_"Rick get off of me, you're drunk!?" I stated worriedly. Rick's bachelor friend who was on his right was looking me up and down hungrily. I was about to vomit when he said.  
_

_"Ricky your sure have your pick in women don't you? Maybe she'd be willing to have some fun?" he said laughing while clasping him on the back.  
_

_I felt my eyes widen as I realized what he meant by 'fun'. I tried to take a step backwards but it was too late and Rick had grabbed me by the waist and hauled me in the closest alley with his hand covering my mouth while he whispered in my ear. _

_"Don't struggle deary, this is what you've wanted all along isn't it? To be held by the caveman side of me huh?"_

_I started to beg for him to stop but he didn't listen. My hat was ripped off my head. The pins holding my hair ripped from my hair in the process. My head throbbed and I started to scream. No one could hear me. The other joined in but that's all I remember. I lifted my eye lids and all I wanted to do was die.  
_

_A few days later I awoke once more and was in a bed. I survived and I still had to marry the monster that life had created for itself. I decided to leave him and go my own way. I decided to get tattoos, dance drink and to do stuff I've never done before.  
_

_**(Flashback Ended)**  
_

I shook my head to clear the memory and walked up the stairs when the phone rang. I turned around and picked up the phone and answered.

"Hello?"

"Layla, this is Carlisle Cullen can I speak to your father? It would only take a minute?"

"Hold on, let me just go and get him." I walked up to Dad's study as he and my mother had stopped arguing and finally became civilized between things. I hoped what ever Carlisle had to say wouldn't cause another predicament between the two. I knocked on his door.

"Come in Layla"

"Um, Dad a Carlisle Cullen is on line 2 for you?"

"Oh okay be sure to put him through, love.

"Already have."

My Dad smiled at me shooed me out of his office.

_Well while he must be doing something important, I think I'll find Mum then _I thought.

"Mum? Where are you?" I called her name as wandered aimlessly through our mansion sized house.

"I'm in my room Layla!" she shouted so I could hear her. I ran up another set of stairs on the second floor of my home and and headed down the hall towards her bedroom. I walked and saw her piling through baby albums of my brother Blaine and I. Dad suddenly burst through the door and said

"The Volturi is after the Cullen's. We must leave immediately and help them. Pack everything you need. Layla call your brother. We need all of the Henderson's we can get."]

**Too be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2: Running Into a Familiar Face

**All is Fair in Love and War**** By EmilylovesAlistair**

**Author's Note: Hi, I've been addicted to FanFiction for a while and now I have plots floating in my head I have to get them out somehow. Yes I am crazy and here is my first attempt at a story* so maybe if I get it out of my system I'll have some piece of mind.  
**

***Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and is gracious enough to let me play with her characters and Twilight Universe. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 2. Meeting New People_  
_**

**LPOV (Layla's Point Of View)**

We were headed to Forks, Washington. The wettest place in the Continental U.S. I hate the rain even though I can't go in the sunlight because I sparkle like a bitch. I sighed. I rang Blaine and told him what happened and he booked a flight so were picking him up from the airport which is about 10 minutes away. Mum doesn't want to get out of the car which really pissed me off because it left me to get Blaine on my own. I clenched my jaw and got out of the car to see my twin brother at the terminal gate.I missed him heaps since he left for college and I was stuck in Britain with my Art, Architecture and Carpeting career. I mean my jobs made me wealthy but I wanted to leave Britain an paint the world as every adventure happens.

I ran through the entrance doors and practically sprinted off towards his terminal gates on the second floor. i ran until I saw him walk through the gateway. I leapt into his arms and smiled. He put me down and we headed to grab his bags from luggage terminal. I helped him grab his suitcase and carry on bag and we made our way to the parking lot.

We entered the car and headed for the Cullen's Place. Dad was the only one besides me who got out the car to hug Blaine. I laughed as Blaine looked so innocent.  
Mum was doing my head in but I didn't say anything or at least I hoped I wouldn't. Mum didn't even acknowledge that Blaine had even entered the car.

"Mum, you have got to stop treating Blaine like this. He is your son you know. You treat him like shit." I was sick and tired of Mum doing this to him. I took a stand and stood up for my brother.

"Don't you dare start young lady and watch your mouth!" Mum yelled from the passenger seat.

"Pull over." was all I said to Dad.

"Why?" Dad asked worriedly.

"You know why Dad. PULL OVER NOW!" my temper was getting hard to control and the my claustrophobia was about to begin. I couldn't breathe.

"Dad Pull over now, she cant breathe right. Dad, please. I'll go with her. I'll keep her safe!?" Blaine started panicking. Dad pulled the car over and Blaine and I got out of the car. Dad drove off hesitantly.

"Thanks Blaine." was all I said as we now walked to the Cullen home anxiously. We walked for about an hour.

We arrived at the Cullen's place and gasped at how welcoming it looked. We smiled and looked at each other in awe.

"Lets get this show on the road then, aye?" my British accent more pronounced than normal. Blaine laughed and said  
"Hell yeah. Can't wait to meet Alice!" He was bouncing with excitement. It was my turn to laugh then. I shook my head and walked up to the front door and before i could knock a familiar God like, blond figure opened the door for us. Blaine raised his eyebrows and I laughed once more.

"Carlisle!" I laughed as Blaine snorted at my enthusiasm. Carlisle laughed and wrapped me in a hug as well as clasping Blaine's hand.

"Jalayla, Blaine."

I glared as he said my full name and snorted.

"Layla" was all I said gritting my teeth together.

"C'mon and met the rest of us." he said lovingly.

"Oh God there is more of you?" I said jokingly. Carlisle gave me an amused look and shook his head at me. That made me raise my eyebrow.

"Whats so amusing Moby Dick?" I said laughing. I heard a booming laugh come from the lounge room. I walked towards the lounge room with my mother scowling and my Dad chuckling. I smirked as I saw Emmett and Jasper clutching their sides laughing. I shook my head again and Blaine stood behind me. Blaine looked at the floor blushing.

"Layla!" Blaine whined in my ear embarrassed. I just laughed at him.

"What?" I asked frowning and turned to look at him curiously.

"What if they don't like me?" he asked with tears in his eyes.

"Blainey we talked about this remember? You need to trust yourself and those around you and if they don't like you tell 'em to bugger off." I said lovingly at my other half. He just nodded and grabbed my hand looking at them for the first time. Rosalie, Alice and Esme started giggling and looking at Blaine adoringly.

"Rose, Esme, Bella and Alice this is Blaine." I said chuckling. I for one do not giggle like a little school girl. I never have and never will.

"Awe! He's so cute!" Alice said bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. Jasper, Emmett and Edward shook their heads. Emmett was the only one game enough to take a step forward and pull me into a bear hug and shake Blaine's hand.

"It's nice to meet you Layla, Blaine." said Esme curiously. Rosalie winked and Alice smiled at me and went up to talk to my brother about clothing and brand designers. I raised my eyebrows and shrugged. I noticed Jasper was they shy empath one. I pursed my lips and raised an eyebrow at Edward who was staring at me like a freak. I clenched my jaw. I didn't like him and I didn't have to like him. I turned my head towards my Dad who was in deep discussion with Carlisle.

"Excuse me Dad. Why are we here? Um, I mean like what did they do?" I asked curiously.

"Bella, bring out Renesmee?!" said my father anxiously. When a young brunette walked around the corner with a younger child at least of the age of seven. They thought I didn't know what she was but my gift told me other wise. I knew everything about everything and everyone just by looking at them or the single touch of contact. I never told my mother and the Volturi didn't know about it either. I didn't want them knowing. I smiled at the little girl and walked towards her.

"May I hold her Bella?" I asked politely. Renesmee reached for me instantly and Bella let me hold her. Before I could ask anything she put her little palm on my face. I gasped as image after image ran through my mind/ My gift analyzed every one of them as each new memory passed. Edward gaped at me.

"You have a gift, Layla?"Edward asked curiously. I put Renesmee down and glared at Edward.

"Yes. Now thanks to you the Volturi will want me." I said clenching my teeth. Blaine put his had on my shoulder. Jasper tried to calm me down but that wasn't enough. I took a step forward and got in Edwards face.

"L-Layla, I didn't mean to.. I thought they knew?!" Edward said scared shitless.

"Layla calm down sweetheart!?" Dad's voice was in my ear as he wrapped his arms around me trying to calm me down. Mum snorted. I turned to face her.

"The Volturi wont want someone like you Jalayla. You're nothing. You're weak. Aro will only want you for your gift not for who you are." said Mum menacingly.

"I'm worth far much more than you'll ever be Elizabeth." I said and walked out the door hurt and angry.

"You don't know Layla like I do Elizabeth. She's amazing, smart and talented. She can sing. Did you know that? She takes after you a lot more than you think. I'm disappointed in you. I thought you were better than that. I guess not then." said my Father proudly. I walked in the forest with Dad on my heels.  
My Dad calmed me down and told me to come inside when I was ready.

I walked further into the forest as many people or so I had heard were headed my way. That's when I bumped into him...

**Too be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3:Running Into Someone You Can't

**All is Fair in Love and War**** By EmilylovesAlistair**

**Author's Note: Hi, I've been addicted to FanFiction for a while and now I have plots floating in my head I have to get them out somehow. Yes I am crazy and here is my first attempt at a story* so maybe if I get it out of my system I'll have some piece of mind.  
**

***Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and is gracious enough to let me play with her characters and Twilight Universe. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 3. Running Into Someone You Can't Read_  
_**

**LPOV (Layla's Point Of View)**

I slammed into something as hard as marble and built like a rock. I gasped as an electric current shocked through my body. I jumped back and growled cautiously. He looked at me curiously cocking his head to the side. I tried to read him using my gift as hard as I could but nothing worked. I frowned and crinkled my eye browns and concentrated again. I sighed giving up. I realized that I actually loved not being able to read him. It gave me an opportunity to get to know someone by myself. I looked at him hesitantly stuck my hand out.**  
**

"Jayla." He looked at me and smiled.

"Alistair." I smile my crooked grin that everyone loved best and he laughed.

"It's nice to meet you? Are you one of the Cullen's friends or something?" I fired off a few questions excitedly.  
He just boomed a laugh and said

"It's nice to meet you too Jayla. Presumably you like to be called Layla and yes, I am an old friend of Carlisle's." He said grinning sheepishly.

"Yes I prefer being called Layla so I know when I am in trouble." I said looking down at my feet shyly.

_Damn, He so adorable. Those eyes are sure something. Red. What did my Dad say about red eyes? Oh my GOD! He hunts humans...Well who am I to judge?_  
_ And that laugh is so cute...  
_

I looked up at him and remembered that I was the one who bumped into him.

"Alistair I am so sorry for bumping into you. Are you okay?" I asked frantically looking him up and down for any signs that I had hurt him. He looked at me stunned and his mouth gaped.

"Layla, you do realize that I am a vampire and that I'm indestructable, right?" He said looking at me like I was a freak.

"Oh yeah. Old habits die hard, right?" I said lacing my fingers together looking down at the leafs grazing against the ground anxiously. He frowned and went to open his mouth to talk but I said

"Well, I guess I should get going now, seeing as you have an old friend to get back too." I said frantically trying to get past him without looking at him in fear of what he thought of me which was rare considering I've never taken any care to what people have thought about me until now. How strange. He grabbed my arm and I looked up from the ground.

"Will I see you again?" he asked nervously.

"Well, yeah. I'm kind of stuck here with my family visiting the Cullen's and now staying for a few months." I said grumpily. He raised an eyebrow at me and looked me up and down in awe.

"Beautiful." He whispered so slow that it was almost unable to be heard. I looked up at him stunned and he looked at the leaves shyly. I laughed causing him to slightly jump in surprise. My beauty hasn't changed that much but as far as I'm concerned I'm the only vampire with tattoo's that travel across my arms,back,hips,thign bu not my heart. I will never get a tattoo on my heart. I have long black hair, I'm 5'4 and have a small round face with big doe brown eyes a button nose but I must warn you I have piercings everywhere. I have a nose ring, earings that go along my ear, an idustrial, belly button, lip, snake bites, tongue and yes I have a piercing on my clit. Not that anyone knows that except for Blaine. He was there when I got it done but he didn't even look. Thank God I hate my body enough as it is. I can barely shower without looking at myself in disgust. Everyone thought that I was confident with my body but I wasn't.

"What's funny?" He asked slightly amused.

"I'm not beautiful Alistair. I'm far from it. I-I can-" before I can say anything his face was inches from mine and he said

"Then you clearly don't see yourself like I do then and I barely even know you..." I looked at his lips then at his eyes. I heard a giggle and chuckle coming from the house and it was Esme and Carlisle. I gulped and butterflies flew around in my stomach and my breathing speed. His face inched a little closer and I licked my lips. He tilted his head to the side and our lips met. His beard tickled my face and sparks evaded my body from the tips or my hair to my toes. My hands travelled up his chest and he pulled me tight against him. My hands were threaded through his hair pulling him even more tighter against me. His hands travelled from hips to my ass and lifted me off of the ground and I wrapped my legs around his waist. I pushed him against the tree gasping.

What I didn't expect was to see my ex-fiancee standing behind me... I heard footsteps. Rick.


	4. Chapter 4:The Past Is The Past Not The P

**All is Fair in Love and War**** By EmilylovesAlistair**

**Author's Note: Hi, I've been addicted to FanFiction for a while and now I have plots floating in my head I have to get them out somehow. Yes I am crazy and here is my first attempt at a story* so maybe if I get it out of my system I'll have some piece of mind. **

***Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and is gracious enough to let me play with her characters and Twilight Universe. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 4: The Past Is The Past Not The Present**

Alistair put me down and put me behind him and crouched down in front of me growling menacingly. Rick had put his hands up and stared me up and down. I snarled.

"Looking good, Layla. Such a shame I almost killed you huh? You're life back then was useless and I still plan on taking it now. Your body looks alot fatter don't you think? You always were the one to be on the round side aye?" he said taking a step forward but was too late. My Father had smashed him through trees and grabbed him from the collar. He roared with anger.

"You son of a fucking bitch and I should have killed you when I had the chance you bastard!" Rick just laughed crazily. I cringed putting my arms around Alistair not hesitating about our relationship like I normally did. I needed closure and security. I was tired of feeling unsafe. Alistair snarled at him again. I held his back against me tight afraid of him getting hurt. He sighed. Rick just laughed but before we knew it Emmett and Jasper appeared out of no where and suddenly Rick was just a broken body in a blazing fire of dusting smoke. My chest and shoulders had felt the weight of them just soar into the sky. Now i felt free. Alistair pulled me into his arms while i dry sobbed. Jasper winced in pain as he felt what I felt. My Dad stood there and said

"Layla, sweetheart? Are you okay?" I didn't mean to take it out on my Dad really but Elizabeth never knew my story. She was at my Father's side instantly. I scowled.

"Yeah, I will be Dad. Don't worry about me. 'Kay?" I said clutching my throat.

"You know that I will no matter what Layla. What he did to you was wrong. Now what hes done was far more worse than we all imagined." My Dad said sincerely. Alistair looked at me curiously but didn't say anything for my benefit. I just wanted to go and hunt.

Carlisle appeared with Esme and looked at the body of soon-to-be ashes and cringed.

"Who was that?!" he asked worriedly.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said shaking slightly.

"Layla..." said my Dad in a warning tone.

"NO-DAD enough is enough. I don't want to talk about him or what happened anymore okay!?" I said frantically pulling on my hair. Alistair took a hold of my wrist and pulled me tight against him in comfort and nuzzled my neck affectionately, giving me butterflies. His hands were on my belly.

_Fuck... If I wasn't in the condition I was I would fuck the shit out him right about now..._I thought. Edward cringed and cocked his head to the side. They all went back to the house except for Carlisle and Esme and as I unwound his arms around me and turned to face him, I looked into his eyes. Carlisle and Esme looked back at us and had a small smile on their faces.

"Alistair, what do you thinks going to happen now?" I asked hesitantly. He looked at me quizzically.

"What do you mean?" he said taking a step back. I sighed my chest felt hollow and pain shot through my dead heart. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"I mean with what happened before?" I asked unsure if he would take it the right way.

"You regret that now don't you?" he asked trying to hide his disappointment and hurt but wasn't quick enough and I saw it in his eyes for a distinct second.

"What wait NO!" I said hoping not to sound desperate. He turned his back to me and took a step forward running his smooth,pale hands through his hair. He was leaving me before I even got the chance to get to know him. He turned to face me again looking strewn and like a innocent child.

"I-I uh." Before he could finish what he was saying, I tackled him to the ground, straddled his waist and my lips found his once more. My body took control before my mind could. Determination. The one emotion that kept me going. My tongue fought with his for domination. My hands pulled on his hair and his traveled up from my waist. I could feel his hard member throbbing through his pants. I could smell him like he could smell me. I sat up and pulled him against me. I broke the kiss and my lips traveled against his jaw and I nibbled on his ear lobe. He gasped. My body felt like it was on fire. My lips kept going. They traveled down towards his pulse and my teeth graved his scar. My panties were getting wetter and wetter with every kiss and touch. I wanted more. My hands roamed his chest and I placed them under his shirt and lifted the hem tearing it through the middle. He growled. I purred. My eyes took in his beautiful, middle aged, frozen body. I looked into his eyes. He looked at mine like he was searching for something. Which I thought he was looking for disgust. He turned his head avoiding my awed gaze. I grabbed his chin.

"Alistair look at me?" I asked worried about what he was thinking. He pushed me away gently and crossed his legs putting his hands on his eyes, hiding himself from me. I sighed and took his wrists giving them a tug. He finally looked at me. His eyes filled with hatred and pain.

"Do I disgust you Layla? Do I make you cringe?" He asked hastily. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Alistair, I think you're the most beautiful thing that I've ever seen." I said adoringly. My hand reached for his face to stroke his face. He looked stunned and burrowed his eyebrows causing him to frown. I put my thumb between his eyebrows.

"Stop frowning, it gives you wrinkles." I said with a smile toying on my lips. His laugh boomed through the forest. My throat burned so I decided to hunt. I clutched my throat and Alistair hissed. His hand touched my throat. I sighed.

"I don't like seeing you in pain. Let's hunt." he said pulling my hand, dragging me further into the forest.

**Too be continued...**  
**  
**

***Authors Note*  
**

**I'll post another chapter maybe tonight or tomorrow maybe the next day if possible!  
**

**#LaylaxAlistair  
**


	5. Chapter 5:The Emotional Roller Coaster

**All is Fair in Love and War By EmilylovesAlistair**

**Author's Note: Hi, I've been addicted to FanFiction for a while and now I have plots floating in my head I have to get them out somehow. Yes I am crazy and here is my first attempt at a story* so maybe if I get it out of my system I'll have some piece of mind.**

***Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and is gracious enough to let me play with her characters and Twilight Universe. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Chapter 5: The Emotional Roller Coaster Ride**

Alistair and I spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and joking around. We stopped at the border line in front of the Cullen's house. I took a deep breath and tried to calm the roller coaster of emotions that washed through me. My mother was still being a bitch to everyone. My father ignored her attitude and made googly eyes with her and well the others were introducing each other too Renesmee. Blaine was with Alice and Rosalie still. Esme and Carlisle were in the kitchen holding each other after a hard day.

Alistair looked at me for a fraction of a second. He blew past me and was in the attic. I frowned momentarily, then shrugged. Blaine ran outside laughing and bear hugged me. I chuckled. He raised an eyebrow at me and I pursed my lips. Trouble we were together. The terrible twos my father had called it.

"What have you been up too?" I asked curiously. _ glared at me_

"Nothing except talking brands with the girls and wrestling with Emmett." he said as a matter-of-factly. I raised an eyebrow.

"The brand stuff I understand but wrestling with Emmett?" I asked even though they both had the same build. Blaine laughed.

"Yeah, crazy right. I mean I guess they figured out about my sexuality but I don't find any one of them attractive, I uh mean that I don't see them that way at all."He said looking down at the floor.

"You see them as family, don't you? I asked nodding me head towards the house. He smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah. Miles well. They are friends of Mum and Dads so why not make 'em family? I mean we treat them like it. So why shouldn't they treat us like it?" he said pursing his lips. I heard Esme squeal in excitement. I hesitated now. I thought about what I'd just done with Alistair. I oculdn't bring myself to believe it. I couldn't fall in love so fast with someone. I frowned. Blaine looked at me curously. I smiled in a tight line and shook my head. Blaine gave me a look saying that he'll won't ask anything yet. Blaine got this goofy grin on his face and turned to me with puppy dog eyes and puted. I knew what he wanted. A sleep-over. I glared at him, clenching my jaw and then closed my, sighing giving up. You never say no to Blaine. Never. No matter what he asks of you or wants you to do. He reminded me of Alice? I think the short 5'2 midget of a vampire.

"Fine. But on one condition. I get to wear whatever p.j's I want and I get to stay up as long as I want." I said warily, pointing my finger at him. Alice, Rosalie, Tanya, Kate ,Carmen and even Esme squealed with Blaine but Bella and the boys groaned. I laughed clenching my stomach. I laughed so hard causing Jasper, Emmett and Carlisle to fall to the floor and Emmett through the window. I finally stopped laughing. I shook my head and walked up to the house Blaine hot on my tail. I opened the fornt door and headed upstairs Bliane, Alice, Rosalie, Tanya, Kate, Carmen and Esme ran ahead of me to the biggest spare room giggling. I snorted and Emmett jumped through the window again looking sheepish. I looked down at my feet feeling a load of uncertainty and insecure.

"Layla? You okay" Jasper asked unsure whether or not to approach me. I reigned my feelings in and looked at him determendly and said

"Yeah I am for now." Feeling depressed and vulnerable. Jasper looked pitiful and sorrow. I shook my head again and walked with my head held high towards the bedroom where the girls and Blaine were making a racous. I put on a fake smile and laugh. My others words cut through me like a knife as I remembered what she said before.

_"The Volturi wont want someone like you Jalayla. You're nothing. You're weak. Aro will only want you for your gift not for who you are."_

I tried not to think about it at all but the more I tried not to I failed. I didn't want to be weak or nothing. I just wanted to be normal. I sighed and turned the knob of the door open. I put on yet again another fake smile. In my eyes you saw sadness in my smile you saw hope. I heard Alistair upstairs wandering aimlessly. I wondered why he was even up there in the first place. _Why do I even care? _I don't even know him. I don't want to know him. I've built this wall up so no one will hurt me again. I will not let some nomad get under my skin. Everyone was laughing and in their p.j's having a blast obviously waiting for me but I didn't want to do this anymore. I wanted space, content freedom. I closed my eyes and mentally chastised myself for thinking such things.

"Where's Bella?" I asked curiously because if she wasn't here then I'm wasn't going to bother being here. I wanted out and I wanted it now. I was not ging to wait for the scumbag Volturi to kill me. I was going to burn myself at all costs.

"She uh had some errands to run." said Esme frowning.

"Errands huh? Must be more important. Uh can I get a rain check on this sleepover?" I asked stuttering. Mum snorted, muttering something along the lines _Pathetic child_. Dad was too far deep in a conversation with Eleazer to notice what she said. Blaine looked at me in sympathy and nodded his head. I turned my back on them and closed the door walking back down the stairs and out of the door before anyone could stop me. I hid my thoughts and my emotions from Edward and Jasper hopefully thinking that I needed privacy.

I went into the woods and felt an arm on my shoulder then I saw darkness...


	6. Chapter 6: Death Is Easy, Life Is Hard

**All is Fair in Love and War**** By EmilylovesAlistair**

**Author's Note: Hi, I've been addicted to FanFiction for a while and now I have plots floating in my head I have to get them out somehow. Yes I am crazy and here is my first attempt at a story* so maybe if I get it out of my system I'll have some piece of mind. **

***Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and is gracious enough to let me play with her characters and Twilight Universe. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended. **

* * *

_**Author's Note;** Please review my story to tell me if it is good or not?_

* * *

**Previously;**

_I went into the woods and felt an arm on my shoulder then I saw darkness..._

**Chapter 5. Death Is Easy, Life Is Hard**

I awoke from the darkness and was being dragged across the forest ground by my hair. I frowned and groaned in my groggy state. _Where am I? _I thought hastily.

"Jasper, what are you doing?" I said as the blonde figure wasn't blurred from my vision. He glared at me angrily.

"ME? What am I doing? You're the one with feeling suicidal not me! What were you thinking Layla?" He roared finally dropping me. I shuddered as I hit the ground. I don't want to live anymore. I have no reason to. He crouched in front of me and put my face in his hands and sighed.

"Layla, you do have a reason to live? You have us, your brother and maybe even Alistair." Jasper said looking at me with relief and hope.

"What did you do to me? I mean like before I uh well the black out thing?" I asked confused and stuttering. Kate appearing behind of Jasper.

"I used my gift full blast while Jasper sent a wave of calm through you" Kate stated as a matter-of-factly, pursing her lips.

"Fuck, that hurt." My head throbbed. Kate offered me her hand but I belatedly refused it and crawled back until my back hit the nearest tree and pulled my knees up to my chest rounding into a ball, my head in my hands and I just kept shaking and dry sobbing and they both backed off leaving me there on my own trusting myself that I wouldn't do any harm.

**JPOV (Jasper's Point Of View)**

To see Layla like that broke my heart. Kate and I backed off leaving her like that. I thought about it and walked back into the house heading towards the attic. I knew her story but the others didn't. I went to Alistair. I walked up the next lot of stairs and opened the door for the attic. He was just sitting there in the same fetal position as Layla.

"Alistair, Layla needs you more than you think." I said with determination and hope. Alistair looked up at me and waves of emotions flooded through me at once.

"You don't think I know that? I have my own problems of my own to sort out first." I cringed and then anger flared through me.

"So you're just going to give up on her? After what you both had just done? You know what leave her alone. She doesn't need you!"I snarled. I turned around and walked away, hearing him whimper into the darkness... I went to find Layla and to see if she was alright.

* * *

**Hi Authors note! **

**Sorry this was really short I just need some more review or ideas to come further ahead? PM me if you have any?**


	7. Chapter 7: When Ones Decision Changes

**All is Fair in Love and War By EmilylovesAlistair**

**Author's Note: Hi, I've been addicted to FanFiction for a while and now I have plots floating in my head I have to get them out somehow. Yes I am crazy and here is my first attempt at a story* so maybe if I get it out of my system I'll have some piece of mind.**

***Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and is gracious enough to let me play with her characters and Twilight Universe. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Ones Decision Changes Everything**

**Alistair's POV**

After Jasper left I felt vulnerable. Shit, I don't even know how old I am or my full name and people speak to me like I'm nothing. Memories flooded my eyes but were still hazy since I was human when they occurred.. They were the ones I tried so hard to suppress away from me because life back then was horrible but something I deserved.

* * *

**Winter, London, 876  
**

_"Get in the dungeon where you'll be til you die you filthy, lying, bastard!" a guard who had bounded my wrists and ankles and chains, grasped me by the hair and threw me in the dungeon locking up the doors. My feet and wrists ached as well as my head. Something warm flowed down the side of my face and my vision blurred. I was dirty and caked in mud, since not showering for a while. A pale human with red eyes approached me. Or so I though he was human.  
_

_"Whats your name soldier?" His voice rough and melodic.  
_

_"Alistair and I'm no soldier"my voice gruff ad croaky from the lack of sorted out a laugh.  
_

_"Oh just you wait you'll be one soon enough." his voice dark. He came up to my face ad gripped my jaw roughly. I cringed.  
_

_"Let go of me!" My voice hoarse. He licked the side of my face where blood was oozing out of. I shuddered his hand and tongue was extremely cold.  
_

_"No." His voice was so calm ad serine it scared me more. He tilted my head to the side and his teeth sunk into my neck and pain enveloped my body._

* * *

I shuddered at the memory as my sire had changed me. I thought back to the days where my best friend and I had sailed the seven seas. The he back stabbed me and took over my ship which led up to my change. Jalayla Henderson. My dead heart warmed at her name. Even though i know nothing about her I love her. The only thing I don't regret my sire doing is changing me as I did before I met Layla. She's so beautiful. My fingers intertwined with themselves. My nails dirty at the lac of hygiene. I heard light footsteps and a few curses coming up the stairs. It was her. _What is she doing?_

* * *

**Layla's POV**

I heard an unfamiliar voice from the house. My head shot up and I stood up against the tree. I cocked my head to the side and started walking to the house. I stopped at the edge of the forest. I looked down at the ground and shook my head ashamed of myself. I heard that voice again.

"Carlisle, who is that?" the stranger asked with a thick Irish accent. I looked up and our eyes met. I gasped. He was breathtakingly beautiful. I couldn't stop starring. He cocked an eye brow. I took another hesitant step in his direction. A few others joined his side as they looked at me with curiosity. I was at the door instantly and headed in their direction immediately.

"Layla." was all I said as I stuck my hand out, clicking my tongue at the back of my throat. He raised his eye brow at me ad went to shake my hand or so I thought.

"Liam." he replied turning my hand and he kissed my knuckles. I gasped and took a step back. He was beautiful. Carlisle looked at me and then to Esme, who wrapped her arms around Carlisle's waist, smiling. He kept staring at me curiously. _Jesus, were all vampires this beautiful? _I thought to myself. I swallowed down the venom down my throat and turned to leave the room. _I can't do this anymore. _I thought to myself again. I smiled slightly. I turned my head back and said

"Excuse me." I walked out of the room and headed for the stairs or should i say staircases. I was headed for Alistair. I opened the door to the attic and too a step in searching for him. He was in the corner of the room his lips trembling. I sat a few feet away from him.

"Hey?" I said casually taking a deep breath.

"Hey" he replied emotionless. I frowned.

"Are you okay?" I ask treading on his emotions carefully.

"Does it look like I'm okay?" He snarled his voice trembling pushing himself closer to the wall.

"Stop. Stop that! Stop discriminating yourself. Now." I growled, grabbing his arm puling him closer into my arms. Oh boy did he fight me. I let go of him hurt, pushing myself away from him.  
He wrapped his arms around himself. I sigh.

"Seriously, what happened to you that made you like this? You know what tell me while were driving. Well your driving" I asked sincerely grabbing my keys and bag from the door way.

"Wait, what?" he asked confused. I smiled brightly.

"C'mon lets go!" I asked excitedly. He groans and gets up from where he was sitting.

"Where are we exactly going?" he asked getting in the drivers side of my sleek black Mercedes Benz.

"My home town London." he looked at me stunned speechless. I raised a quizzical brow at him.

"Wow, London? I live there." He smiled softly. I snorted.

"Well, great minds do think a like dont they?" He laughed. Not just a chuckle. I grinned satisfied.

"True." he smiled.

"Get going then!"I barked my order put the keys in the ignition and we were off. Our conversation dribbled on...

_I laughed, shaking my head. "I didn't set fire to a house," I said, finding myself smiling at the bastard as he drove. "I set fire to Rick's"  
_

"He wasn't in it at the time, of course," I added quickly, upon seeing what I could explain as a look of unadulterated fury upon his face. "But I hated that house. He had gotten me all worked up. Really, he was just working himself up. It was when we broke up and he was really touchy. We both were. I think...and yeah, I admit that wasn't exactly logical, but I thought that if I burned it down...he wouldn't ever come back. I knew he weren't coming back for me, but he loved Forks. He'd want to come back eventually, you know, like when I was dead. And I wanted to remind them what they left behind, when they did come back. Like I said, it was crazy. And, you know, I was mad. Seemed like a good idea at the time. "

"Allow me to understand this correctly," he began slowly, fingers curled around the steering wheel. "You set fire to a vampire's house as means of petty vengeance due to the pressure from your pre-pubescent ex-boyfriend being far too unbearable for you to rise above? Am I correct?"

I huffed, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. Yeah, I was trying not to dwell on it. I was pretty sure if I puked in the car, I'd get left on the side of the road. "Well, when you put it that way, I sound like an ass hole, but yeah. That pretty much sums it up."

"You know, were you a human, you'd be killed." His voice was grave, or as grave as it could be, because he always sounded somewhat melancholy to me. "A vampire's nest is its _heart._ Especially for a coven the size of Rick's. From what I know, the Forks House was Rick's most beloved property, his home among homes."

I turned away from him, staring out the window, catching rainbows in the water drops as the slid down the glass. "Then I'm happy I did it." A heart for a heart.

"Then you truly are beneath us."

"You know what?" I said, turning to stare at him. "You are a fucking douche bag. If you don't know what that is, I suggest you look it up. I am a fucking being. I am a person. A girl. Not an animal, or a pet, or a sandwich, dammit."

"Oh well, far be it from me to insinuate you are anything but a lady," he replied. "I must have been mistaken by your sailor-mouth, and utter lack of social etiquette."

"Says the man who fuckin' insulted me," I snapped. "What the hell do you know about social etiquette?"

"Very little, I will admit. But I will say this, you are no more a lady then I am a unicorn, and that is to say, not at all. I remember real ladies. Ladies with propriety and grace."

"And bonnets and bustle," I added, letting my anger go. What kind of good would it do me anyways? I was too tired to yell and scream. "But I mean, you were a pirate, I'd think a good ol'-fashioned lass wouldn't be your catch."

He smirked, casting me an amused look. "Perhaps not. A man such as myself saw ports few and far between. When we sought the grace of a lady, it was on the flat of her back. Where comeliness and decorum were attractive in a lady, we sought more the rough-and-tumble sort."

"When there's no time to woo, and what not. Yeah, I get that. I have a lot of respect for hookers," I offered, almost absently. "I mean, they may spend half their time in bed, but their job can't be easy."

"Prostitution in my day was far more organized, and respected in some parts. It was hardly an uncommon thing to see a woman sell herself for the pleasure of it. Not proper ladies mind you, but common-women. It was a job, just as blacksmithing, or baking, but many did it for the sheer pleasure in it. Ladgerda was the only woman Pirate of her times, and a profitable one at that; the price on her arse could buy a ship."

"Did you know her?" I asked, finding the history lesson appealing. His words were like quiet smoke washing away the ache in my head. "Did Pirates have friends? Was there really, like, a Pirate code?"

"Ladgerda? I did. A mighty fine lass, she was. She had a sharp tongue and a sharper sword. We'd run across each other from time to time; it was good business. We may have watched each others hind sides, but a pirate has no friends. It isn't sensible. Who knew better than a Pirate that a Pirate was about as likely to steal the shoes off your feet as he was to shake your hand."

An idea sparked, from where I could not say, but the niggling of gratitude for his well-timed rescue had worked its way to the forefront of my mind. "Hmmm," I said, un-buckling my seat belt.

**Alistair's POV**

Her restraint-belt clicked and slid, coiling itself with a mechanical _zip_, into its base. She hummed, maneuvering herself to kneel in the seat. I watched, curious, as she curved her upper body between our seats, elbows knocking into my arm as she leaned into the back seat.

What on Earth was she doing? The dress slid up her thighs, hanging loose on the front of her body. The angle was appealing, the curve of her arse easily followed beneath the cable-knit of her sweater. I'd seen her naked, wearing little more then her skin, and this bit of arse and legs had me in a stir? It wasn't her, of surety; the talk of past conquests had served to shift my mood, so to speak. Bloody sandwich.

She shifted, one knee pressed against the center console, her pale calf brushing the gear-shift. "What the bloody fuck are you doing, girl? Get back in your seat at once."

"Wait, no. I know it's in here, dammit," she grumbled, legs spreading. To my horror and fascination, and ultimately my horror at my fascination, the false leather seat cover offered me a reflection of her panties; nothing I hadn't seen only hours prior, but certainly not at this angle.

She let out a victorious little hum, pulling herself back between the seats, a small white thing in hand. "iPod Touch," she explained. "Dude, Encyclopedia Britannica."

"Encyclowhatica?" I asked, all intelligence leaving me in that one word. I shook myself from distraction only to happy to occupy my thoughts with things not pertaining to lewd up-skirt shots of the girls undergarments. As soon as this situation was behind me, I'd a notion to seek out Maggie. The little red-headed minx could wash away my obvious and somewhat infuriating _itch_.

"Encyclopedia Britannica," she said again, pressing a tiny button at the top of the small white thing. "It's an old application, so it won't have everything but..."

"I haven't the foggiest as to what it is you speak of," I said, irritated. "This is another computer thing. Should you be concerned that I will find out it too has some sort of satellite tracker, and I will be forced to smash it?"

"No," she said, staring at the machine and not me. "It's not online. I downloaded the encyclopedias onto it. I used it for work, you know, for all the statistics and crap that tourists like. What was that chick-pirates name again?"

"Ladgerda?"

"That's the one. Give it a minute. Ha!" She turned to me, a smile wide on her face. "870 A.D. That should give me a better time line to look you up. You wouldn't happen to remember any of your ships' names would you?"

I blinked. Surely she didn't mean..."What?"

"Ship names, you know. What did you call your ship?" she asked, looking up from the contraption, looking expectant and none-too-patient.

"The Misfortune," I replied slowly. "And the Sea Spider. Do you mean to tell me that you can find me in that _thing_?" The notion both disturbed and excited me all at once. Though, having my life's work condensed into a menial piece of new century trash was very nearly insulting.

"Hmm, probably. You said that you were somewhat notorious? Well known enough to be documented?" she said, her eyes falling back to the machine. "There we go. Oh." Her face fell, mouth pinched. "Well, there isn't much, but it's something. Captain Alistair Xavius Webb of the ship Misfortune. Estimated year of birth 849, estimated year of death, 877. That would make you around twenty-eight. There's a bit more, do you want me to read it?"

"No," I said quietly, pulling off to the side of the road. We were far off the highway; taking unexpected, twisting back roads to avoid leaving ourselves open to be cut off ahead. "No, that won't be necessary."

I left her in the car, her voice trailing away in confusion, to the venom pounding in my ears. One-thousand years and more I'd lived, and I hadn't a clue until now. I planted my hands against the engine-warmed bonnet of the vehicle, head dropping in contemplation.

"Hey," the girl said beside me, leaning too close for my general comfort. "Hey are you okay?"

I said nothing, too lost in the phenomenon that was this information. She hadn't a clue as to what she had so easily given me. I felt a combative sensation of loss and relief. The small gift of knowledge served to both devastate and thrill me; it was a reminder of all that I had lost, but it was also something I'd longed to know. It was as if she'd returned a part of myself I hadn't known I'd missed. It felt strange.._.I_ felt strange. Alistair Xavius Webb; I hadn't even known my own name.

Her arm burned me where she'd wrapped it around my forearm. "Alistair," she said, brow knitted. It was only the second time she'd used my name and it was no less odd to hear now, than the first. "Are you okay?"

I looked up from where I had been staring so intently at the bonnet of the car. "I will be."

**Layla's POV  
**

"Read me more," he asked, pulling onto the road. I didn't know what the fuck was up with his freak out, but I had my suspicions. I'd admit to being a little blasé about his past. I'd realized quickly enough that he hadn't even known his own damn name. And I'd just handed it over, flippant as fuck. "It's quite a way to London still; we've time that needs killing yet."

"Are you sure?" I asked, turning my iPod back on. I'd lied when I said it couldn't be tracked, but I wasn't picking up any fucking wi-fi wherever we were. "You seemed...a little...upset before."

He didn't snort, or smile, but I could hear the humor in his voice as he spoke. "I've only just found out I'm one thousand, one hundred, and sixteen years old. Many a birthday I have missed. And the fact that my estimation was over four-hundred years incorrect disconcerts me."

"How do you lose four-hundred years?" I asked before thinking. It wasn't exactly my business. I'd no idea how he spent his time, not that I particularly wanted to. The man was kind of creepy.

"Indeed, how?" he replied, almost to himself.

"Okay," I said slowly, pulling up the small article on seventh-century pirates. There was very little in the way of information, as it seemed Piracy was only just being documented. Alistair's article was cut short by his assumed death, but I surmised what I could for him from the snippet. "It says you sailed the Atlantic from 868 to 877, building a name for yourself among other English Pirates."

"England was little more than an infant at the time," he said quietly. "King Egbert had managed to find himself dethroned, but he fought to keep it. Prior to his rather inglorious usurping just after my death, he'd ran the nation into chaos. Piracy was a wise choice by my part, as he was very much headed to fail spectacularly as a king."

"Can't blame a man for monopolizing on his situation," I agreed, rather awkwardly as I scrolled through his article. "Two ships listed; the Sea Spider, which was sank in 870, and The Misfortune, which was claimed by a man named Cameron Lorimer."

He growled suddenly, startling me, lips curling back into a smile, but not before cursing an impressive combination of English, Scottish and what I could vaguely make out as maybe Burmese, of all things.

"Lorimer!" he snarled, fingers snapping half a chunk of the steering wheel off. "_Nea nga yea lee thwa sout liet! _Bloody little wanker! _Loo ma thar..._shove hishead right up his arse! _Shinach, P'g mo th'in-_"

"Well, alright then. Is it safe to say you don't like him?" I asked, cutting him off before he ran the car into a fucking tree. "Who the hell is Lorimer?"

His eyes narrowed as he raced down the road, taking every twist and curve in the road ruthlessly. "A mutinous bastard. A traitor!" he rumbled, glaring daggers at nothing. "Lorimer was my second-in-command, my first mate. A right little bugger from the start he was, but he had a spirit about him I respected. Ambitious, ruthless; I made the mistake of trusting him. _Shinach, _sly bastard."

"Is that Scottish? I thought you were an Englishmen," I said.

He gave me a look that clearly suggested I was missing the point. "It happens to be Gaelic."

"Sounds Scottish to me."

"It isn't. What are you implying?"

I shrugged. "I'm not implying anything. It's just that...when you were ranting, I thought I heard a little Scottish brogue in that accent of yours. But what do I know?"

He turned his head on his shoulder like a fucking owl, all slow and creepy like. "Are you trying to discredit my claim to English heritage?" And damned if he didn't sound a little haughty, for a goddamn pirate.

"I'm not! You could be a Burmese whore, and it wouldn't matter to me," I snapped, staring at him incredulously. Really, he was being kind of fucking ridiculous. "You know, you're awfully fucking touchy about this. If I didn't doubt your English heritage or whatever before, I am now."

"I _am_ an Englishman. My father, however, was a Scotsman, and a lying, cheating scoundrel." He blinked, head falling to the side as I'd only seen him do when a particular thought struck him odd. "I haven't thought of my father in years."

Awkward. Why was everything so awkward? "Um...I'm sorry it wasn't a nice memory. I mean, he uh, didn't sound like the best father."

"What on earth are you talking about? He taught me everything I know," he replied, looking genuinely baffled by my assumption of his father. Well then.

"Moving on, I guess." I read further down the article, wondering how we'd gotten so off subject. "Wait. If Lorimer overtook your ship, how did you end up a vampire? I mean, he'd have killed you, right?"

"And bring the wrath of Circe herself down upon him?" he asked, brow raised. Like I knew who fucking Circe was. "To kill one's Captain is to evoke the wrath of every sea-god. The very worst of the worst luck. He'd no sooner kill me then he'd maroon me on an island and risk the chance of me finding him; as I would have, had he stranded me. No, he locked me in my own brig, the little blighter."

"My life is really fucked up."

"If you are expecting me to disagree, you'll be sorely disappointed," he said from beside me. "Will you tell me how you got so tangled up with our kind? How did you manage to get bitten. How did you end up in England? I've known Carlisle his entire life, and I wonder how he found you. I find myself reluctantly interested."

I let the misconception that I belonged to Carlisle in any conception slide. He had his way of thinking, and nothing I could say would change that. "Will you tell me how you ended up a Vampire?" I countered.

"If I must."

"I was sixteen when I met Rick . He hated me, off the bat. I challenged his control, and he couldn't hear my thoughts. It drove him crazy, but it intrigued him too. It's...it's fucked up, but sometimes I have to wonder if that's why he ever bothered with me. I was a challenge, a mystery. I fell in love. How can you not? Maybe it was hero-worship. Maybe it was just him. But he was designed to be worshiped, to be awed. I was just another in a long line of girls to find themselves fascinated by him. But I was the first he ever acknowledged.

"He pushed me away at first, but it didn't matter. I'd stumbled upon something bigger than myself. When I found out he was a vampire...it never mattered. I was already in too deep. We'd given in to it, the both of us, and things were good. We were in love. I know you don't think so, but it doesn't matter. I loved him, and in some capacity, he loved me too," I said, even as he opened his mouth to comment.

"The attack, shit, it was just random. Just a series of wrong places and wrong times. His name was Jason, the vampire that attacked me. He was a tracker and I was...just another challenge to another vampire. They killed him and Rick saved me. He tried to leave me after that; he was always trying to leave. I guess that should have said something about me, huh? Well, in the end, he got his way. His brother attempted to attack me on my birthday...I'd just...I'd gotten a fucking paper cut. Rick left me over a goddamn paper cut."

"I can admit I can see his reasoning," he replied quietly, and not entirely unkindly for him, but I still bristled. "I find your human nature exhausting. Your requirements are tedious. You grow tired, hungry, sore. You could not compare to him, it was inevitable he would grow bored of you. A relationship must be between equals, or it is not a relationship at all but ownership."

It hurt to hear, but it wasn't anything I didn't know. I felt the pain spark inside me, smaller than it had been, but apparently everlasting. "I know," I whispered, because damned if I wanted to admit he was right.

"It was wrong of him," he began carefully, every word more cautious then the last, "To manipulate you as he did. While I do not frown upon the practice, human interaction with vampires should always have one of two outcomes. He should have drained you or changed you."

"He swore he would never do either," I replied. "I asked him. I wanted to be changed."

"That he had no intentions of doing either makes the crime all the more punishable," he said. "Now tell me why you came to England."

"That's not a long story," I said, and really it wasn't. It was actually embarrassingly short. "After I punched out that cop, my dad kicked me out, and my mom wouldn't take me in after all the shit I'd pulled. I mean, to be fair, I'd pulled some bad shit, not even just the rap sheet. I'd been fuckin' up for a while, and I wasn't exactly a kid any more. I didn't have anywhere to go, but I saw this ad in the paper for Eastbound Books. They needed someone fast. I was perfect for the job. I didn't have shit; no family to miss, no obligations at home. I had unlimited free time and I needed to get away. The pay was shit, but the covered all my expenses. I loved my job. Then some dude runs me off the road, I wrap my car around a tree, and carted to England. "

"Your life really is bloody fucked."

And that was the most earnest thing I'd heard from his mouth since the moment we ran into each other in the forest.

We arrived at a house in London not only 3 days later.

"Hey when we get in i'll take a shower first." I got out the car and headed for the boot when he said

"Don't bother I'll get them for you" I smiled.

"Thanks?"

When at last I shut the shower off, peeling back the shower curtain slowly, I found my suitcase leaning against the chipped, ceramic pedestal sink. I hadn't heard him bring it in, not that I was all that surprised by the fact. It was just that this vampire, this Alistair, he seemed so unabashedly vampiric. He held nothing back, not like the Rick's family, who clung to the shreds of their humanity with every nuance of strength they had in them. They shifted, and blinked, and cleared their throats like the best of them. I had known they were vampires, but I had never really seen it.

But this man, this vampire, he made the Andersen's look like kittens; tame and sleepy. He moved with deadly grace, appearing by my side with little more then a shift of wind, and an unapologetic expression. He was fast; oh they were all fast, but to see it flaunted so nonchalantly, it made me realize that though I knew of vampires, I really knew nothing.

I laid my dirty clothes over the edge of the tub, wiping my skin dry with a scratchy navy blue towel. This was my home. I dressed quietly, listening for any sound. My skin itched, crawling with anticipation, adrenalin still rushing my veins. I felt high on fear, heart fluttering in my chest, even as I pulled on my t-shirt. My jeans were worn thin, a hole in each knee, but they were comfortable, and more so, they were Comfort. I'd had them since the last time I was here, when things were simple, and my life was not insane. Bare feet padding softly against the warped floor boards, I mapped my way through the house with memories flooding my head, not a sound to follow, just a hallway and a stair case. Passing the familiar garage door, I walked gently on, the hall pouring out suddenly into the kitchen. Yellow light illuminated the small room. Alistair was at the sink, his bottom half hidden by a breakfast bar so were his hands. I stepped around the bar to sit at the tiny kitchen table shoved against the wall beside the fridge, when I saw it. He was hard and touching himself. I turned around stealthily and walked into the lounge room turning on the light and lit the candles and opening windows to air out the scent. I was playing with the lighter when he came round the corner. Flames burned up his hair and I panicked.

"Holy shit! I'm so sorry!" He pat down the flame before I could reach it. I sighed. He looked pissed. I bit my lip. he licked is hand and put venom on his forehead healing the burn that was once there.

"Its fine." he said harshly. I gave myself a moment to examine Alistair. He wore little more than tattered jeans and a dingy white undershirt that had seen better days. I hadn't realized before, but his hair was quite long, falling towards the middle of his back in gnarled locks, shiny crow black, with one solid streak of dove gray in the front.

Gray hair in a Vampire, it seemed strange. I had always associated them with youth, even Carlisle who seemed older and other-wordly. It didn't age him, merely added to his beauty, giving him a look that screamed words like _knowledge_ and _wisdom._ He had stubble, which intrigued me, but I didn't have the balls to ask how Vampires grew hair. Obviously they could, it really didn't matter in the moment.

Alistair: an old name. An old name to match an old face to match an old soul. He looked war hardened and grizzly; the kind of person you wouldn't approach, and the kind of vampire that apparently made you piss yourself. His skin was the same flawless, milky white I had seen time and again, but it was smudged with dirt, and what I couldn't mistake for anything but old, dried blood. His nails were filthy, deadly sharp, and his mouth was drawn in a taught, stern line. He hacked away, lock after tangled lock falling into the sink basin, before I sighed, rising to a stand.

"Put the damn knife down, and sit in the fucking chair," I grumbled, rummaging through the kitchen drawers. I found what I was looking for: a pair of orange plastic-handled scissors, turning to find the Vampire still standing at the sink, looking at me with a torn and guarded expression. "Obviously I am not going to stab you; I'd probably end up stabbing myself. So just...sit down, before you scalp yourself bald."

"This is isn't necessary. I am not emotionally attached to my hair," Ailstair replied warily. "It shall grow back, with enough time."

"Sit," I sighed, reaching out slowly for the knife. "Sit please?" Grasping it carefully by the blade, I tugged it free from his grip. "Just park your ass in the chair, please and uh... maybe tell me how it grows back, because I don't get that."

"Will you continue to natter on if I do not appease you this?" he asked, quirking a sleek, black brow. "I've no need for incessant chatter."

"I don't chatter," I replied indignantly, "and yes, I'll keep bugging you until you let me. I mean, it's my fault you hair is all fucked up, so this is the least I can do."

"Very well then," he replied, in the same low, gravely voice. He perched in the chair I myself had been seated in, first stepping gingerly towards him.

"Good," I said shortly, coming to stand behind him. "Good, yeah. Uh. So I'm just gonna...clip off all the ...uh bad stuff. Do you have a preference in length?"

"I've no preference, it is only hair. Cut what you feel is necessary." He replied curtly, as I snipped the first lock, a thick black knotted curl falling to the floor like a raven's wing.

The awkward silence was stifling; I was sure my eardrums were going to rupture from the pressure alone. "So..."I continued to snip, working through his hair, the pile of curls growing larger. "Tell me how your hair continues to grow."

"Nutrients in the blood are stored in our bodies over time, as they are in a living body. The stores are generally reserved for times when a vampire cannot feed, as fat would serve for a starving human. However, over time, nutrients must be burned. It resulted in hair and nail growth," he explained clinically. "The process is slow; one year of hair growth in a human probably equals ten years to a vampire."

I nodded, clipping away another matted, tangled curl. His hair was just...stupidly soft, like every other vampire. It was unfair. It was also ridiculously filthy, and given that he had so kindly deposited me in the shower, I felt that I had every right to inform him of his own damn stench. "You know, you're kind of dirty. And you smell. You should monopolize on the available running water, and maybe the washing machine."

"I'm afraid I am quite ignorant to modern technology. I've not a clue how to operate the bathing facilities, as well as the washing machine." The vampire admitted.

"Running water isn't really modern technology," I noted, wondering just how old and isolated this vampire was. Careful to not touch his skin, I picked through the mess. "Turn your head a bit to the left, there that's it. How do you shower? Bathe? How do you like...clean yourself?" I asked, carding my fingers through his hair carefully, feeling for any more tangles. It was much better; I had done my best to keep it neat. It had been bad enough to merit cutting off at least a foot, leaving the tips of his hair brushing his shoulders.

"I bathe in the river," he replied, shortly. "Or in the rain."

"Wow, a real live hippy," I commented dryly, but the sarcasm seemed to be lost on the poor guy. "I could show you, if you'd like." I offered kindly, as kindly as I could to a predator. "I saw a washing machine in the garage, a dryer too. They're older than dirt, but they might work. I can wash your things."

"You wish to wash my clothes?" he asked, rising from the chair. "Odd."

"Well, we're being civil here. You didn't hurt me and I did set you on fire, so the least I can do is cut your hair and wash your clothes. I'd offer to make you dinner, but that's out of the picture."

"Wives' work," he commented randomly, "very strange. If you insist on partaking in such domestic duties, I shall accede, if only to keep you from insisting we talk."

Well then, wasn't that peachy? "Well alright then. Would you like me to show you now? Or..." my voice trailed of awkwardly.

"Now is fine." he said brushing an errant curl off his shoulder. It fluttered to the floor shining in the yellow, kitchen light.

"Come on, I'll show you how the shower works."I said sighing.

The bathroom seemed very small when you weren't being manhandled and forced into the shower. The Vampire stood close behind me, watching as I manipulated the faucets. Lukewarm water sprinkled from the shower-head, pattering against the ceramic tub loudly. "It isn't very warm, not that… uh...not that it would do much for you."

The vampire's head fell to the side in consideration before he spoke, peering at the bottles shoved into the corner of the bathtub, "What is _shampoo_?"

"What? Uh...it's for...it's used to clean your hair. You've really never showered before? Yeah, shampoo, cleans the hair. You might want to use...a lot of that. Don't worry about conditioner. You know what soap is right?"

Pinning me with a look I couldn't decipher but assumed was a more heated glare then his usual glare, the vampire nodded, "I understand soap."

Scratching my neck awkwardly, I nodded once, backing up a little to work my way around him in the little bathroom, "Right then...well. I found some towels under the sink...and... What the fuck are you doing?"

He peeled off his thin white shirt, holding it out for me to take, a look of dark amusement washing his normally cold face._ God._ He was ripped forty-seven different ways to Sunday. What the hell did he do as a human to get a body like that as a vampire? There were no adolescent lines or softness, just hard muscle, sculpted and perfect and all angling and pointing downward like the 'V' thing I had only ever seen in Calvin Kline commercials and...and...

"I am undressing. Am I to wear my clothing while showering? I believe you offered to wash them yourself. It would be rather impolite to recant now."

"I...uh...no. Yeah, no. But...hey! Stop that." I snapped, as his hands quickly worked the buttons on his loose jeans. They fell to the floor slowly, fabric brushing against his skin loudly in the quiet, quiet bathroom. He stepped out of them, bending down to gather them up, and I could almost see what might have been a grin, except it was all teeth, and sort of scary. Following the drop of his pants, I noticed his feet were bare; no shoes or socks.

Actually, he was pretty much bare, save for a leather corded necklace tied around his neck. Jesus fuck, he was buck-ass naked and like a foot away in all his scary vampire glory.

"Layla?"

My eyes snapped up from where they were unabashedly glued on to the most beautiful vampire cock I had ever seen. Inappropriate questions flew through my mind like is that it's full length, is it hard all the time, and does it sparkle in the sun, and is that where Lady Ga Ga came up with the term Disco Stick? I squeaked, hands slapping over my eyes as I turned away quickly, smacking my face against the door in a scurry to just...not look _there_.

"Fuck! What the hell is wrong with you?" I groaned, reaching one hand back blindly for his clothes. "You can't...you can't just go around taking off your clothes! I'm a girl...there are like... all sorts of issues with this. Just...give me your clothes and get your ass in the shower. Oh my god, you're like a cave man."

"Pirate, actually." There was a noise, something of a chuckle, and the filthy fabric of jeans and shirt greeted my hands. "I've no reason to be modest in front of you girl. Could you not undress yourself in front of a sandwich? I apologize if I offend you, but you are food, and beneath me."

I huffed, tearing the clothing from his hands, before slipping silently out of the bathroom and down the stairs. The washing machine, while being older than me, did actually work. I sat on top of it, and considered the possibility of running again. Though I couldn't be sure he didn't have spare clothing, I couldn't help but wonder if he would chase me through the night in nothing but his skin. Somehow, I imagined it wouldn't matter to him. The idea of him running after me naked as the day he was born made me snort, a hysterical little bubble of laughter escaping me. I slammed my mouth shut, afraid that if I started laughing now, I'd never stop.

I was left with Alistair in the bathroom, and a load of whites that still needed to be washed.

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**Okay! Finally this took me a while to write guys! More reviews and idea's please! 25 or more reviews and I'll write another chapter!**

**-LaylaxAlistair xx**


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